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Trump Reshapes Lumber Trade With Historic Move

Keely Compson
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0
Trump Reshapes Lumber Trade With Historic Move

Key Takeaways

  • National Security First: Trump’s Section 232 tariffs on lumber and wood products aim to secure U.S. defense, infrastructure, and industrial strength by cutting reliance on foreign supply chains.
  • Fighting Unfair Trade: The tariffs counter foreign subsidies and predatory practices that have undermined American producers since 2016, leveling the playing field for U.S. workers.
  • Boosting American Industry: By incentivizing domestic production, Trump is protecting jobs, strengthening supply chains, and ensuring America can meet its own construction and military needs.

President Donald J. Trump is once again proving that when it comes to trade, America comes first. On Monday, the President signed a proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose tariffs on imports of timber, lumber, and related wood products. The move underscores Trump’s belief that economic security is national security — and that America should never depend on foreign supply chains for critical building materials.

The new tariffs include a 10% global duty on softwood lumber, a 25% tariff on upholstered furniture (set to rise to 30% in January), and a 25% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities (jumping to 50% in January). Trading partners willing to negotiate fairer terms may be able to avoid the steep increases, while close allies like the U.K., EU, and Japan will enjoy lower ceilings on tariffs under existing trade agreements.

Commerce Secretary findings made it clear: America’s reliance on foreign wood imports undermines defense readiness, industrial strength, and economic stability. The U.S. military spends more than $10 billion annually on construction, with innovative wood products already being tested for military infrastructure. Yet despite having the capacity to meet 95% of U.S. demand, foreign subsidies and predatory trade practices have allowed imports to dominate since 2016.

“Lumber plays a vital role in both civilian construction and military infrastructure,” the White House explained. “It is vital for the United States to possess manufacturing capabilities in the wood and lumber sector to ensure readiness and guarantee national security.”

This action builds on Trump’s proven record of using Section 232 tariffs to defend American industry — from steel and aluminum to autos and copper. By countering unfair trade practices, Trump is incentivizing domestic production, securing critical supply chains, and restoring America’s economic sovereignty.

Once again, Trump is showing that Washington works best when it works for the American worker — not foreign competitors.

Central Bank Braces for Data Blackout Amid Funding Fight

Keely Compson
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0
Central Bank Braces for Data Blackout Amid Funding Fight

Key Takeaways

  • Data Blackout Looming: A government shutdown would halt Labor Department releases on jobs and inflation, forcing the Fed to rely on alternate data ahead of its Oct. 28–29 meeting.
  • Fed’s Backup Plan: Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee says the bank will lean on private-sector sources, hiring and layoff estimates, and its own “Nowcast” models if official data is unavailable.
  • Partisan Gridlock at Fault: While the House passed a continuing resolution, Senate Democrats are blocking progress by demanding continued funding for healthcare subsidies, risking economic uncertainty.

With Democrats dragging their feet on funding, the Federal Reserve may soon be flying blind. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee admitted Tuesday that if a government shutdown begins at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the central bank won’t have access to critical economic data in the lead-up to its Oct. 28-29 policy meeting.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the best source of data that we have,” Goolsbee told FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence. “It pains me that we wouldn’t be getting official statistics at exactly a moment when we’re trying to figure out is the economy in transition.”

The Labor Department confirmed it will halt all releases if the shutdown hits, delaying key reports on jobless claims, nonfarm payrolls, and the consumer price index — metrics the Fed relies on to guide interest rate decisions. Without them, the central bank will turn to private-sector indicators and its own modeling.

“Just recently, the Chicago Fed introduced the labor market indicators… we will lean heavily on our hiring rate estimates, on our layoffs and other separate rate estimates and on our Nowcast of the unemployment rate if we can’t get the official data,” Goolsbee explained.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Inflation, hiring, and layoffs are already in flux, and markets need clarity. Yet Democrats are holding up a clean continuing resolution, demanding more healthcare subsidies. Once again, partisan brinkmanship risks real economic consequences — leaving America’s central bank scrambling for answers.

Trump Admin Delivers Historic NEPA Reform to Unleash U.S. Growth

Keely Compson
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0
Trump Admin Delivers Historic NEPA Reform to Unleash U.S. Growth

Key Takeaways

  • Historic Reform: The Trump administration has delivered the largest overhaul in the 55-year history of NEPA, cutting permitting delays that often exceeded construction timelines.
  • Economic Impact: By streamlining reviews, agencies can greenlight projects faster, boosting American energy, infrastructure, and competitiveness in global markets.
  • America First Leadership: Trump’s reforms ensure Washington works for the people by removing red tape, unleashing energy dominance, and strengthening U.S. leadership in critical sectors.

For decades, America’s infrastructure projects have faced a bureaucratic nightmare: federal permits that take longer to secure than the projects themselves take to build. President Donald J. Trump promised to fix it — and now he’s delivering.

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released updated guidance this week to streamline implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), giving federal agencies a clear roadmap to cut red tape, accelerate approvals, and get America building again.

“There’s been a consensus across all three branches of government that we need permitting reform,” said CEQ Chairman Katherine Scarlett. “Now, at the direction of President Trump, Federal agencies have a clear and consistent roadmap to get us there.”

The new guidance builds on NEPA amendments passed in 2023 and 2025 and reflects the Supreme Court’s landmark Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County decision. For the first time in over 50 years, agencies are modernizing their NEPA procedures, aligning with Trump’s pro-growth agenda and his Unleashing American Energyexecutive order.

The impact is already showing. On June 30, 2025, the first tranche of agencies completed updates to their NEPA procedures, cutting years off project timelines.

Scarlett called it “the greatest permitting reform ever to take place in the 55-year history of NEPA.”

Bottom line: Trump’s reforms are restoring common sense, unleashing American energy dominance, and strengthening U.S. leadership in critical sectors — proving again that under America First leadership, Washington works for the people, not against them.

Vance Rips Schumer’s Shutdown Demands: ‘We’re Not Funding Crazy Ideas’

Keely Compson
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Vance Rips Schumer’s Shutdown Demands: ‘We’re Not Funding Crazy Ideas’

Key Takeaways

  • No Blank Checks: VP JD Vance slammed Democrats for demanding $1.5 trillion in radical spending, calling it an attempt to hold the people’s government hostage.
  • Rejecting Waste: Vance singled out taxpayer funding for illegal immigrants’ healthcare and transgender surgeries abroad as “crazy ideas” unworthy of American tax dollars.
  • America First Priorities: The Trump-Vance administration is standing firm on fiscal responsibility, rejecting Washington games while protecting taxpayers, veterans, and working families from shutdown chaos.

Vice President JD Vance isn’t mincing words. As Democrats pushed the country to the brink of a shutdown, Vance slammed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his party for trying to hold the government hostage with a $1.5 trillion ransom list.

“We are NOT going to let you take the people’s government hostage and then give you everything you want,” Vance declared.

Among the Democrats’ demands, according to Vance: taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants and even funding for transgender surgeries overseas. “Giving taxpayer money to illegal aliens for healthcare—that’s a crazy idea. Funding transgender surgeries in Peru—that’s a crazy idea,” he said.

House Republicans have already advanced a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open, but Democrats in the Senate are digging in, demanding billions for radical priorities while seniors, veterans, and working families face the uncertainty of another shutdown.

Vance’s tough stance highlights the administration’s America First approach to governing: protect taxpayers, defend sovereignty, and stop Washington from wasting money on fringe projects that have nothing to do with the American people.

For Vance, this fight is about fiscal sanity in a time of economic strain. Families are still battling inflation, higher energy costs, and rising interest rates. The last thing they need is Washington sending their tax dollars abroad or giving benefits to those who broke the law to come here.

With Trump and Vance holding the line, Democrats may find out the hard way that America is done funding “crazy ideas.”

YouTube Backs Down: Trump Scores $24.5M in Censorship Battle

Keely Compson
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YouTube Backs Down: Trump Scores $24.5M in Censorship Battle

Key Takeaways

  • Big Tech Concedes: YouTube settled Trump’s lawsuit for $24.5 million, following earlier payouts from Meta ($25M) and X ($10M), marking a string of victories in his free speech fight.
  • America First Legacy: $22 million of the settlement will fund the Trust for the National Mall to support a new White House State Ballroom, linking the deal to Trump’s vision of restoring American tradition.
  • Trump’s Leverage: Negotiations unfolded at Mar-a-Lago with Google’s top brass, and his return to the White House was credited by his attorney as the decisive factor: “If he had not been re-elected, we would have been in court for 1,000 years.”

President Donald Trump has scored another victory in his long-running battle with Big Tech. YouTube, the last of the tech giants to face him in court, has agreed to a $24.5 million settlement over its suspension of his account following the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

According to court filings, $22 million of the settlement will go to the Trust for the National Mall to help fund construction of a new White House State Ballroom — a project Trump has championed as part of restoring American tradition and pride. Another $2.5 million will be paid to other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union, author Naomi Wolf, and several individuals.

Negotiations reportedly weren’t your typical boardroom grind. Mediation sessions took place at Mar-a-Lago in May, where Trump welcomed Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin. The talks continued over golf and lunch at Trump’s club. It was a classic Trump-style deal: tough, personal, and sealed with a handshake on the fairway.

John P. Coale, Trump’s lead attorney, credited the President’s political comeback for forcing Silicon Valley’s hand. “If he had not been re-elected, we would have been in court for 1,000 years,” Coale told The Wall Street Journal.

YouTube reinstated Trump’s channel in March 2023, but the lawsuit pressed forward on constitutional grounds. Now, with Meta, X, and YouTube all settling, Trump has not only won legal vindication but also reaffirmed his role as Big Tech’s biggest headache — and America’s boldest defender of free speech.

From Debanked to Bullish: Eric Trump Backs Bitcoin Revolution

Keely Compson
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0
From Debanked to Bullish: Eric Trump Backs Bitcoin Revolution

Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin as Digital Gold: Eric Trump says bitcoin’s finite 21 million supply makes it superior to gold, portable, and poised to hit $1 million.
  • Broken Banking: After being debanked, Trump blasted traditional finance as outdated, slow, and inefficient, arguing bitcoin enables instant, low-cost global transfers.
  • Crypto and Freedom: Trump framed cryptocurrency as a fight for financial sovereignty, predicting American Bitcoin will be a leader in building the future of money.

Eric Trump isn’t mincing words when it comes to the future of money. The co-founder of American Bitcoin and executive vice president of the Trump Organization declared that crypto is not just speculation—it’s the next evolution in global finance. Appearing on Making Money with Charles Payne, Trump called bitcoin “digital gold” and predicted the asset could eventually soar to $1 million.

Trump said his “epiphany” came when banks suddenly debanked him and his family’s businesses. “Capital One sent me a letter in the middle of the night stripping 300 bank accounts from [our properties] for doing absolutely nothing wrong,” he recalled. That experience pushed him toward crypto, where he saw “brilliant minds” solving problems in what he described as an “antiquated” financial system.

Traditional banking, he argued, is bogged down with inefficiencies. “It took me 120 days to get a mortgage from a bank I’d banked with for 25 years. Every week I was chasing SWIFT wires…Bitcoin is the way of the future.” Unlike gold, he explained, bitcoin is portable, finite, and liquid: “With bitcoin, there will never be 21 million and one coins.”

Trump also highlighted stablecoins as a way to strengthen the U.S. dollar, giving people worldwide a secure, fast, dollar-backed alternative when they can’t trust their own governments.

Major institutions are finally catching up, Trump noted, allowing everyday investors to buy bitcoin through mainstream banks. “I do think it will hit $1 million eventually. I’ve never been more bullish.”

For Eric Trump, crypto is not just about technology—it’s about freedom, sovereignty, and building American leadership in the next frontier of finance.

Trump Deploys Federal Force to End Antifa’s Reign of Terror in Portland

Keely Compson
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0
Trump Deploys Federal Force to End Antifa’s Reign of Terror in Portland

Key Takeaways

  • Federal Crackdown: President Trump has deployed federal resources to end Antifa-led violence in Portland, restoring law and order after years of unchecked chaos.
  • Antifa’s Record of Violence: From torching police vehicles to toppling historic statues and even killing a Patriot Prayer supporter, Antifa’s violent history shows this isn’t protest—it’s terrorism.
  • America First Leadership: While Democrats cower and excuse lawlessness, Trump is taking decisive action to protect citizens, officers, and businesses from mob rule.

President Donald J. Trump has had enough. After years of chaos in Portland fueled by Antifa radicals and ignored by Democrat politicians, the White House announced a full-scale mobilization of federal resources to restore order and protect American citizens.

“The Radical Left’s reign of terror in Portland ends now,” Trump declared, blasting city leaders for turning a blind eye while criminals masquerading as “protesters” turned neighborhoods into war zones.

Since June, Antifa militants have laid siege to Portland’s ICE field office — wielding stop signs as battering rams, hurling explosives, doxing federal officers, and even rolling out a guillotine. Dozens have been arrested for arson, assault, and resisting arrest, but the violence has only escalated.

This isn’t new. For years, Portland has been ground zero for left-wing lawlessness: burning police vehicles in 2024, deploying fireworks against political candidates in 2022, and even toppling statues of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt in 2020. Antifa’s record reads like a rap sheet: 100 days of rioting in 2020, bludgeoning officers with power tools, torching businesses, and killing a Patriot Prayer supporter in cold blood.

Federal intervention marks a turning point. Trump is making it clear: America will not tolerate terrorism on its own soil. Portland’s residents, small businesses, and law enforcement deserve safety — not endless mob rule.

Democrats call it protest. But Americans know better: this is anarchy. And President Trump is proving once again that when weak politicians cower, he acts.

Order, safety, and liberty will prevail — because that’s what America First leadership delivers.

Democrats’ Shutdown Games Put Veterans, Seniors, and Public Safety at Risk

Keely Compson
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0
Democrats’ Shutdown Games Put Veterans, Seniors, and Public Safety at Risk

Key Takeaways

  • Veterans and Seniors at Risk: Essential VA programs, suicide prevention grants, Social Security offices, and Medicare assistance could stall if Democrats force a shutdown.
  • Public Safety Threatened: Law enforcement groups warn that officers would be working without pay while crime and border chaos surge.
  • Republicans Offer Stability: President Trump and House GOP back a clean continuing resolution to keep government open, fund critical programs, and stop Democrats’ political games.

As Democrats play chicken with America’s future, the White House is warning that their brinkmanship over a government shutdown could devastate veterans, seniors, law enforcement, and working families. With the fiscal year deadline days away, it’s President Trump and House Republicans pushing for a clean continuing resolution (CR) to keep government open—while Democrats stall and demand more spending on pet projects and special interests.

The consequences of a shutdown aren’t theoretical—they’re real and dangerous. Veterans’ groups like the American Legion, AMVETS, and Vietnam Veterans of America have sounded the alarm. Programs that fight veteran homelessness, fund suicide prevention, and deliver housing assistance would grind to a halt. “These extensions are not simply bureaucratic measures; they directly affect the lives of veterans and their families,” the American Legion warned.

Seniors, too, would be hit hard. AMAC Action, which represents over 2 million older Americans, blasted Democrats for playing politics with Social Security, Medicare access, and veterans’ benefits. “The confusion, backlogs, and service disruptions that accompany a shutdown create needless anxiety and hardship for older Americans living on fixed incomes,” AMAC said. Their bottom line: pass the CR, protect seniors, and reject Democrat demands like healthcare for illegal aliens and funding for left-wing media outlets.

Law enforcement officials are equally blunt. The National Association of Police Organizations, representing 250,000 officers, warned that a shutdown would force cops to work without pay—at a time when violent crime, drugs, and border chaos are already straining resources. “To have them risk their lives without pay undermines support for the work they are doing,” NAPO declared.

Even industries Democrats claim to champion—like housing and healthcare—are waving red flags. Home builders warned that letting flood insurance lapse would stall 1,300 property sales a day, tanking home values. Healthcare groups like the American Telemedicine Association cautioned that millions of patients could lose access to telehealth.

Meanwhile, the American Federation of Government Employees put it simply: “Federal employees are not bargaining chips. They are veterans, caregivers, law enforcement officers, and neighbors who serve their country and fellow Americans every day. They deserve stability and respect, not pink slips and political games.”

The reality is clear: Democrats are threatening veterans’ healthcare, seniors’ benefits, law enforcement paychecks, and America’s economic momentum—all to score political points. President Trump and House Republicans have already passed a responsible, clean CR that funds essential services, extends key veterans’ programs, and strengthens national security.

Democrats can either get on board—or own the shutdown chaos that will follow. For a party that talks nonstop about compassion, their willingness to gamble with seniors, veterans, and public safety exposes their true priorities: power over people.

It’s time to stop the games. Pass the CR. Protect America’s families. Keep the government open.

Airlines Warn Shutdown Could Ground Progress, Cost Billions

Keely Compson
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0
Airlines Warn Shutdown Could Ground Progress, Cost Billions

Key Takeaways

  • Economic Risk: The aviation sector makes up 5% of GDP and supports 10 million jobs; a shutdown threatens billions in activity and consumer confidence.
  • Safety at Stake: With the FAA short 3,800 controllers, a shutdown would freeze hiring, close training academies, and degrade safety margins.
  • Partisan Gridlock: House Republicans advanced a short-term plan to keep government open, but Senate Democrats rejected it, pushing the nation toward avoidable disruption.

With Congress deadlocked and the clock ticking toward a midnight shutdown, U.S. airlines are sounding the alarm: Democrats’ political brinkmanship could cripple air travel, stall modernization, and drain billions from the economy.

In a blunt letter to lawmakers, the Modern Skies Coalition — representing carriers like United, Delta, American, Southwest, airports, pilots, and manufacturers — warned that even a short shutdown would hurt safety, delay hiring, and disrupt progress on building a modern air traffic control system. “Government shutdowns harm the U.S. economy and degrade the redundancies and margins of safety that our National Airspace System is built upon,” the coalition wrote.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Aviation accounts for more than 5% of GDP — $1.37 trillion in 2023 — and supports over 10 million jobs. The last prolonged shutdown in 2018–19 cost the U.S. economy $3 billion in lost activity, never to be recovered. That’s the price of Washington dysfunction.

The FAA is already short nearly 3,800 air traffic controllers, a gap that has strained airports and led to staffing-related delays. During past shutdowns, the FAA was forced to shutter its training academy, worsening shortages for years. A repeat now would devastate an industry already struggling to keep up with demand.

House Republicans have advanced a clean short-term funding plan, but Senate Democrats rejected it, demanding new subsidies and spending the country simply can’t afford. After an hour-long White House meeting with President Trump, Democrats refused to budge, leaving the nation on the brink of yet another avoidable crisis.

Once again, Republicans are offering stability while Democrats gamble with jobs, safety, and America’s competitiveness. For an industry that fuels growth and mobility, shutdown politics is the biggest turbulence of all.

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